The number of significant cyber incidents in Canada has tripled over the past two years, driven by factors including evolving technology, geopolitical tensions such as the war in Ukraine, and broader socioeconomic trends, according to new research from commercial insurer QBE.
The Control Risks Report, published by QBE, showed that globally significant and disruptive cyber attacks in Canada increased from 10 in 2023 to 18 in 2024. The report projects that this figure could rise to 32 incidents by the end of 2025.
Canadian businesses are increasingly aware of the growing cyber risk. A separate QBE-commissioned survey found that 80% of businesses believe cyber threats have risen in Canada over the past year.
More than half of Canadian businesses (53%) experienced a cyber event in the past 12 months, according to the findings. Nearly one in five (18%) reported an incident that disrupted operations for at least one working day. An additional 35% reported cyber events causing shorter disruptions.
Financial impacts were also reported. Half (51%) of the cyber attacks resulted in revenue loss, and 58% of businesses indicated that some, most, or all of these incidents involved vulnerabilities linked to suppliers.
Kyle Gray, technical underwriter team lead, Cyber, at QBE, said businesses are increasingly interconnected, and while strengthening internal digital security remains important, addressing risks within the broader IT supply chain is equally necessary.
Survey results show that 78% of businesses remain concerned about potential cyber threats over the next year. Of these, 25% reported being very concerned, while 53% said they were somewhat concerned. To address these risks, 28% of businesses expect their cyber security budgets to grow beyond inflation over the next 12 months, while 41% expect increases in line with inflation.
Despite this, gaps in preparedness remain. One-quarter of businesses surveyed do not currently have cyber insurance coverage, and 15% lack an incident response plan.
Meanwhile, nearly all Canadian businesses (94%) are already using artificial intelligence (71%) or exploring its use (23%). Most businesses expect AI to contribute positively to their operations and the broader economy over the next two years, with anticipated benefits including improved efficiency, reduced costs, and innovation. However, 18% of businesses also expect AI adoption to introduce additional cyber risk.
